


Bonds Found, Bonds Forged

by JaydrFamiliar



Series: Siiryel Glanodel DRK week 2020 [3]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Dark Knight | DRK Week (Final Fantasy XIV), Elezen Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Family, Fluff, Found Family, Mention of dead parents, Other, Post-Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers, Post-Patch 5.3: Reflections in Crystal, Trans Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:33:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27530824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaydrFamiliar/pseuds/JaydrFamiliar
Summary: Wanting to get away the aftermath of the Sapphire Weapon, Siiryel decides to take Giott for a picnic, where conversation quickly turns to a particular topic. Story for Dark Knight Week 2020 day 3 - Family
Relationships: Giott/Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV)
Series: Siiryel Glanodel DRK week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2005984
Kudos: 4





	Bonds Found, Bonds Forged

**Author's Note:**

> it's two days late because I was ill but it's here now! I got tired of dark and broody content so have some fluff instead. Also I'll not be doing day 4 for personal reasons, so sorry for that.

They called it the kingdom of rainbows for a good reason, one evident on today more than most. The summer sun beat down on the vibrant grass of Il Mheg, crystalline reflections casting halos of colour into the air. The cool wind brought the scent of flowers and freshwater up to them, on a patch of grass high up a cliff overlooking Longmirror Lake.

“And here I was thinking you’d had enough of the light,” Giott chuckled as they rummaged through the basket Siiryel had brought, placing food down on the black-and-white checked blanket they’d spread out. Siiryel smiled as she rolled her eyes.

“The sun’s nice here, not gentle, but calm,” she said, pulling the stopper on a jug of mors, “hardly soul-destroying. Besides, I would have thought you’d be the one who’d gotten sick of it.”

“Hah! Spent my whole life in the light, not about to start getting me down now.” They’d stood up for extra emphasis, and were looking at the sky as they continued, “Though it’s nice to see a proper sunny day, blue sky and all.”

Siiryel smiled. That had been, after all, why Siiryel had chosen here for a picnic. A warm summer’s day and a bright blue sky was nice enough at home, but on the First it was second only to the deep night sky. Giott had found the pork pies and was examining them. “Did you make these pies small ‘cos I’m gonna have them?” They said with suspicion in their voice.

“I did not, no. That’s just how they tend to get made. They’d be tiny if I scaled them down,” she said in a slightly mocking tone, setting the full jug next to them. She pulled out a cup she had delicately packaged with a few fire crystals, and carefully took away the waterproof wrapping. Miraculously the coffee was still hot and hadn’t spilled. She had more fruit drinks she was planning to get around to, but she’d yet to have coffee that day and that was dangerous this high up.

“So what have you been up to back home? I assume nobody would let you rest as always?” Giott said. As they waited for a response, they hefted up the jug and started glugging it down.

With a sigh, Siiryel started, “They wanted me to pilot a colossal magitek suit of armour to fight another one of these ‘Weapon’ things. One of those weird adopted Drahn of Gaius’ was the pilot and immediately sacrificed himself to make it go superpowered.” She glared down at her sandwiches as she spoke. “So of course I not only had to destroy a horrible _thing_ I then needed to _care_ about the feelings of some barely-repent…”

“This isn’t bad!” Giott declared, bringing the jug back down to the ground. “I was worried when you said you were bringing fruity stuff but this is stronger than it looks,” they smiled, grabbing a pie and a sandwich and sitting down on Siiryel’s lap, leaning against her chest. “How about we not talk about all that stuff right now then, sounds like it was a lot.”

With a grateful sigh, Siiryel wrapped one arm around the perching dwarf and reached over with the other to grab a sandwich. Giott adjusted themselves to get more comfortable as Siiryel took a bite. Grilled and lightly seasoned ovim with a fresh dressed salad was a perfect choice for the day, if she did say so herself. That’s right, this was supposed to be a nice relaxing time with her… Well, with Giott. Better not to get worked up about stuff like that. “What about you then? You cursed with an exciting time while I’ve been gone?”

“Wicked white if only!” They said, mouth barely clear from being full of pie. “Went and cleared up some ‘eaters in Lakeland with those other guys from the stair. They ought to take some lessons from me in how to lighten up.” They shook their head. “I also saw my folks down at Luca’s Locket. The dorks down at the anvil don’t mind having some exile hanging around, unlike Tomra.”

Siiryel was a little surprised at the mention of their parents. Come to think of it, she didn’t know much about their family. Frankly, she never really asked anyone about family unless it came up. “Oh, how was that? I don’t think you’ve mentioned them before.”

“It was alright. Drank a few tankards, asked how they’ve been. They’re still not happy about my helmet but they’ll come ‘round eventually. Wouldn’t drink with me at all otherwise,” They said with some melancholy in their voice.

“Were you close? Before Sophrosyne?” Siiryel asked cautiously. She wrestled the last bite of her sandwich into her mouth trying not to drop any chunks of meat before picking up her coffee to drink.

“Of course,” Giott said with a smile, looking up at Siiryel. “Their kid’s the pride o’ Tomra. Greatest warrior, greatest drinker, and smart to boot. I have them to thank for that. ‘S the good thing about tradition, you learn from those who know best, and I had to make them proud.” They started on their own sandwich before continuing, “They’re proud, I know it. Bein’ an exile though, not something I think they’re gonna get over lightly.” The two continued their meal with a brief lull in conversation before Giott broke the silence, “What about your parents? You close?”

Siiryel hadn’t seen that question coming somehow. People tended to ask about her, they never seemed to ask about her family. “Oh, well… We were. I lost them both in the calamity.”

“Oh shite! Serves me right for assuming.” She could feel Giott tense up as they realised what they’d said.

“It’s okay! Honestly,” Siiryel reassured as she gave Giott a soft kiss on the top of the head. “I’m not upset about it, not anymore. I miss them, I do, but… They always taught me the choices you make and the home you make for yourself were the most important things in life. It’s why they left the Twelveswood for Ul’dah and… I think it’s how I moved on. I love them, but I have no regrets. I think they wouldn’t have wanted me to be sad about them.”

The silence returned to their picnic, disturbed only by birdsong and the sound of crunching grass as a phooka hopped along nearby. Siiryel often surprised herself with how readily she had come to terms with her parents’ deaths, though she rarely voiced it aloud. Everyone in Eorzea had lost someone in the calamity. Sometimes it seemed like it was easier to deal with _because_ it was so tragic. At least for Siiryel.

“What were they like?” Giott asked, getting up to go get more food and drink. Their voice had returned to that relaxed softness they sometimes showed around her.

“Hmm,” Siiryel hummed in thought. “In a word, strange. I had to get it from somewhere I suppose. Looking back they were way more intellectual than you’d expect for thieves. They helped me come up with my new name, I ended up using a weird old wildwood dialect rather than a more sensible one, because I liked how it looked when they showed me. A more modern version of my name would probably be Cirielle I suppose.”

“Is that seriously the reason your name is such a pain?!” Giott said incredulously. They shook their head and set about downing the rest of the drinks jug.

Siiryel gave a short cackle in response. “A name tells a lot about a person, so they made me think about it a lot more than I was planning to. I just wanted to start presenting as a woman in public as soon as I could.”

Giott set the jug down and wiped their mouth before reaching for more sandwiches. They looked thoughtful as they took a bite of one. “Reckon they’d-“ they stopped to swallow the rest of the sandwich as they remembered their mouth was full, “Reckon they’d approve of you courting a lalifell?”

“It’s lalafell.”

“It’s dwarf, but seriously,” they frowned.

Siiryel laughed before thinking for a second. “I don’t see why they would mind. I guess I’ve heard some elezen who have trouble with the idea but I think that’s because they think of lalafell as children because of their height.”

“Hah!” Giott declared, making a fist in the air. “I’d love to give those people a taste of my hammer, see if they still think we’re children when they have no kneecaps!’

With a smile, Siiryel reached into the basket and pulled out a bottle of mors and topped up the jug. It always caught her off guard how quickly Giott could change from calm and sensitive to rambunctious. It could be jarring sometimes, but it’s one thing Siiryel really liked about them. It was such an up-front and honest way to be and that was refreshing. Her thoughts must have come through in her expression, because Giott was sheepishly looking away as they made their way through another pork pie. Savouring the comfortable quiet, however, another thought occurred to Siiryel.

“I suppose I do have family of another kind. I hadn’t realised it until my friends Sidurgu and Rielle mentioned something similar. The idea that a family can be made by the bonds we forge with others, not just those of our blood,” she mused, head tilted as she stared up at the rockface.

Giott walked over, moving Siiryel’s hands aside so they could again rest on her lap. Siiryel gently wrapped her arms around them in an embrace before continuing to speak, “Alisiae and I were there for each other when everything was going wrong. Hells all the scions have been there for me, and I for them. Sid and Rielle… We’ve been through a lot together. For each other.” She chuckled as she remembered more, “I seem to have a lot of orphans with skill in conjury who look up to me. I guess caring about the people you meet comes with the territory of being a protector.”

Giott looked up at her, a bright smile on their face. “I don’t think that’s true,” they said, “people with responsibilities can be cruel, just thinking about rules and traditions and that, even if they just do it because they think it’ll help. I think you care because that’s you, Siiryel. The bonds you make are so strong because of it.”

Siiryel tightened the hug and buried her face in Giott’s hair. She’d been called empathetic and caring numerous times before, but when you hear something so much it becomes easy to deflect. From Giott though, the words found their mark. Her emotions were her strength, but they were her weakness too; the burden of caring in a dark and dangerous world was great, and so often it wore her out. Hearing them say it like that, Siiryel struggled to keep back a tear. “Thank you.” She said quietly, kissing them softly on the head one again.

“Hmm,” Giott mused, changing the subject, “maybe I should try and be closer to those lot from the stair. Weird and brooding guys but hey, they’re not bad folks, and maybe having more of Giott around will help them smile more eh?” 

With a snort, Siiryel pulled her face back, wiping her eyes on her shoulder. “You’re onto something there. Even putting the cardinal virtues aside, you’ve got good hearts, I think you’d be good for one another.” She pondered, raising her hand to her chin. “Though I guess you all being close would be more of a boon for Glynard’s pockets.”

The pair of them chuckled and set about finishing off the food they’d brought. Drowsy from the warm sun and delicious food, they dozed together on the grass, listening to the sounds of the kingdom of rainbows as Giott cuddled up to Siiryel’s side.

“So is my name really that much of a bother?” Siiryel said as the stray thought occurred to her.

“Only if I want to pronounce it properly, can’t let you have that one on me can I?” They lazily replied, eyes still closed as they moved to be more audible.

“You can just call me Siry if you want. It’s nice when people do that.”

She could feel Giott’s smile as she replied.

“Siry it is then.”


End file.
